play hardball

1. Act aggressively and ruthlessly, as in It's only a month before the election, and I'm sure they'll start to play hardball. This term originated in baseball, where it alludes to using the standard ball as opposed to the slightly larger and minimally softer ball of softball. It was transferred to describe aggressive behavior only in the 1970s.

Example Sentences

In response, he said, Democrats have to stop thinking about “whether or not we should play hardball,” and start focusing on “how we play hardball.”

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“It’s not about whether we play hardball anymore. It’s about how we play hardball,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said on a press call Wednesday.

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“It’s not a tactic to say we’re going to play hardball. It’s just stupid,” McNicholas said.

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“I’m not going to say, ‘oh, I’m going to play hardball with China,’” Trump said Tuesday.

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But for the best outcome, he says, India will have to "play hardball. Basically, tell the US - we're open to negotiations on other fronts, but don't destabilise our agriculture".

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